China v Vatican as auxiliary bishop quits state association

Published on 13/07/2012 00:00

The government body that controls the Catholic Church in China says it is investigating the selection of a bishop who cut his ties to the group as soon as he was ordained, in an embarrassment to Beijing that could deepen its rift with the Vatican.

Shanghai’s auxiliary Bishop Ma Daqin, 44, announced he was leaving the Catholic Patriotic Association at the end of his ­ordination on Saturday, saying he wished to devote himself to his pastoral duties.

The move marked the biggest public challenge to Beijing’s control of Catholic clergy in years. The Vatican does not recognise the Catholic Patriotic Association and insists the Chinese church should take its orders ­directly from Rome.

Bishop Ma’s announcement was greeted with applause in Shanghai’s Cathedral of St Ignatius, the seat of one of China’s largest, wealthiest and most independent dioceses. But he has not been seen since.

The Patriotic Association issued a two-line statement yesterday saying it was investigating violations of regulations in the selection of bishops.

In Rome, a spokesman said the Vatican had no immediate comment on Bishop Ma’s case.

However, in a note issued on Tuesday, the Vatican appeared to take a conciliatory approach, saying his ordination was “encouraging and welcomed.”

Hong Kong-based Catholic activist Anthony Lam said China’s response to Bishop Ma’s announcement would make reconciliation between the sides even harder. The onus is on Beijing to explain its actions, he said. “Obviously the event will cause problems in the process of normalisation of the China-Vatican relationship,” Mr Lam said.

The government’s options in Bishop Ma’s case appear limited. Barring him from his pastoral duties could strengthen the status of the underground church that operates alongside the open church in defiance of government control. But allowing him to operate outside the Patriotic Association would amount to a surrender of authority.

His ordination had marked a notable case of co-operation between China and the Vatican, which have no formal relations and bicker over who has the right to appoint bishops. China demands it does so independently, while the Holy See rules only the Pope can make such decisions. In Bishop Ma’s case, the Pope had issued his approval of Beijing’s selection for him to take over as auxiliary, giving him day-to-day control of the Shanghai diocese and placing him next in line after Bishop Jin Luxian, who is 96.

Such agreements had been common in the past, but Beijing has moved to assert its authority by acting unilaterally. Last Friday, it appointed a new bishop in the north-east city of Harbin who did not have papal approval and was immediately excommunicated by the Vatican.

China has an estimated eight million to 12 million Catholics, around half of whom worship in underground congregations. China’s atheist Communist Party ordered Catholics to cut ties with the Holy See in the 1950s, and persecuted the church until restoring a degree of religious freedom and freeing imprisoned priests in the late 1970s.

Renunciation of the Patriotic Association by priests in the open church is not unusual, although most such declarations are done in private.